History Main / JackOfAllStats

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

Another strength that helps the Jack-of-All-Stats is resistance to changes brought about by patches or {{Metagame}} discoveries that would reduce or remove the need for a specialist class. The Jack-of-All-Stats can, and often will, become a MasterOfAll if given enough time and effort, although this is usual much more expensive in comparison to a specialist class. In some cases their versatility also overlaps in ConfusionFu, as their ability to fill a variety of roles with a wide range of techniques can make understanding their full capabilities much harder, but either way, they can also fall into their own category of DifficultButAwesome due to the fact that because they are so balanced, they lack specialization. [[WeakButSkilled This in theory would mean more specialized characters can fall back on one thing the balanced ones can also do, only on a much more effective scale. This would mean this archetype have to rely on a lot more work to do well against said specialists, or even against themselves with a lot of fundamentals or out-of-the-box tactics.]] On the other hand, some of these characters can fall into the SkillGateCharacter since their versatility allows newer players to explore different gameplay styles as well as exploring the player's strengths and weaknesses.

* ''VideoGame/AgeOfEmpiresII:'' The Byzantines, the Chinese, and (in the ''African Kingdoms'' expansion) the Malians are civilizations noted to a have versatile tech tree with reasonable civilization bonuses with a variety of unit options that would allow them to open up for different strategies and gameplay styles, especially with the Byzantines, where the civilization is noted to have [[SkillGateCharacter a low learning curve that is easy for a newer player to pick up]].

Quite often, this character is the baseline to get the hang of the controls, since they lack the extremes that might trip up a novice. They're also a solid choice for advanced players who want the flexibility to exploit an enemy's weakness, no matter what that weakness may be. Whether the character retains their usefulness as the player's skill grows depends on how much the game rewards versatility as opposed to pure power, but the Jack-of-All-Stats is almost never the best character in any given game or a GameBreaker. They may have trouble dealing with characters whose skills are more extreme than theirs if they're allowed to press their advantages. Some games tout the FragileSpeedster as [[SkillGateCharacter great for beginners,]] while the MightyGlacier is [[DifficultButAwesome for experts only]]. In other games, the FragileSpeedster can be [[InertiaIsACruelMistress tough to control]] while the MightyGlacier is easier to handle. In either case, the Jack-of-All-Stats is an all-around safe bet for anyone.

** Kasumi, unusually for a tech-focused squad member, can also fill this role. Her Shadow Strike ability does extremely high damage to all defense types, incapacitates enemies if she damages their health, and allows her to act somewhat as a tank (she distracts enemies into attacking her, but she is only vulnerable for a very short period of time, so she rarely takes any noticeable damage). Flashbang Grenade is the most multipurpose crowd control ability in the game (it disables weapons and hampers both biotic and tech power usage), has a massive AoE, and works normally regardless of whether or not enemies have defenses. Overload gives her the ability to remove shields on multiple enemies or as a multipurpose anti-synthetic skill with enough points in it.

%%** In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'', ''most'' of the humans qualify as this, [[{{Delinquent}} Yukino]], [[GeniusDitz Elly]] and [[BreakTheCutie Maki]] especially.

* In ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' games, Leonardo often takes this role. Donatello has the longest reach but is physically the weakest, Michelangelo the strongest but slowest, and Raphael the fastest but has the shortest reach (some games switch these around but you get the idea). Leo, meanwhile, is in the middle across the board. For example, in ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesShreddersRevenge'', each playable character (the TMNT, April, Splinter and Casey) has their power, range and speed represented by one to three stars, and Leo has two in every stat.

%%* In any ''VideoGame/StarFox'' game where the characters have different stats, such as ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'' or ''VideoGame/StarFoxCommand'', Fox will have the most well rounded abilities.

* The Scholar in ''VideoGame/TheConsumingShadow'', is your default character. He starts with 60 hourse to stop the invading Ancinent. All of the other characters attributes are centered around him.